House passes ‘union-busting’ bill amid labor furor

TALLAHASSEE — A controversial measure that could have a broad impact on public-sector unions in Florida passed the state House of Representatives on a mostly party-line vote Thursday, but faces more resistance in the Senate.

Under the bill, FL HB25 (18R), public-sector unions that see their total dues-paying membership fall below half of those eligible would be forced to petition the Public Employee Relations Commission for recertification.

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The bill — fast-tracked by House leadership — would exempt unions that represent police officers, prison guards and firefighters.

Bill sponsor Scott Plakon (R-Longwood) has argued his proposal would make unions more responsive, transparent and accountable.

“The bill hasn’t moved in the Senate this session, and I don’t see it gaining traction,” Senate president-designate Bill Galvano (R-Bradenton) told POLITICO.

Unions representing teachers, nurses and other public-sector workers have hammered the proposal for weeks, describing it as old-school “union-busting.”

Florida Education Association President Joanne McCall has said the measure is a matter of political retribution.

“H.B. 25 is not motivated by any public education need or public benefit,” she said. "It is motivated purely by politics. It's an attempt to silence those who dare to speak out and speak up on behalf of our public schools and our students.”

There’s no love lost between the House and the teachers' union. In his first speech as speaker of the House, Richard Corcoran called the FEA’s legal challenge to one of Florida’s voucher-like tax credit scholarship programs “downright evil.”

Democrats also flagged a provision in the state constitution that guarantees the "right of employees, by and through a labor organization, to bargain collectively shall not be denied or abridged,” and they say the measure violates that right.

Smith also noted that unions representing some public safety employees — such as EMTs and emergency dispatchers — were left out of the exemption.

And he tried to appeal to his conservative colleagues by arguing that the “irony” of the bill is that it “grows government” because of the nearly $300,000 in recurring funding included the bill, so PERC can hire employees to process all the new recertification elections that the bill could result in.

Democrats have also noted that workers can choose to decertify their unions under the current system, but say there hasn’t been a “clamoring" to do that.

They also highlight the fact that Florida is a right-to-work state, and surmised that low membership in some unions is due to the fact that workers can get the benefits of union negotiations without paying dues, and thus have little incentive to pay.

Other Democrats observed that the measure would disproportionately affect unions that represent professions dominated by women, while unions for public safety professions like police officers and firefighters — which tend to be dominated by men — are exempted.

Plakon, who was not on the House floor Thursday, has repeatedly rejected accusations that the bill was crafted to target women. But that has not assuaged the fears of lawmakers like state Rep. Lori Berman (D-Lantana) that the bill would have a “discriminatory effect."

The difference in perspectives was neatly captured in an exchange on the floor between state Reps. Larry Ahern (R-Seminole) and John Cortes (D-Kissimmee). Ahern suggested that though unions may have been needed decades ago, "I think that the time for unions may have passed.”

“Nonsense,” Cortes said. Even though he’s retired, he noted that he still benefits from his union membership from his years as a correctional officer. “Unions are going to fight until the end,” he added, and vowed to help them do so.

Plakon's measure is hardly new. He first introduced the concept in a bill in 2011. Last year, a similar bill, FL HB11 (17R), passed the House, but — as in years before — it died in the Senate. An identical bill in the Senate is sponsored by state Sen. Greg Steube (R-Sarasota).

State Rep. Chris Latvala (Clearwater) was one of the few Republicans to vote against the measure at its lone committee stop, though he did not vote on the measure on the floor. His father, former Senate budget Chairman Jack Latvala, was among the most pro-union Republicans in the Legislature. The elder Latvala resigned recently after two separate investigations found cause to believe he sexually harassed and groped a host of women in the political and legislative process. State Rep. Tom Goodson (R-Rockledge) joined Democrats in voting against the proposal.

Corcoran, who did not make himself available for questions following the floor session, hailed passage of the bill in a statement: "Employees shouldn't be forced to be represented by an organization they disagree with or no longer support. The House will always fight to empower individuals over bureaucrats."

Other labor groups besides the FEA that have vocally opposed the legislation include AFSCME and SEIU, which slammed the House following the vote.

“Today's vote takes us backwards," SEIU Florida President Monica Russo said in a statement. "Too many people across Florida are living paycheck to paycheck, but House Republicans just said 'you're on your own.'"